First-time author Massoud Abbasi’s debut novel Seeker of Horizons may be fiction, but it pulls no punches in reflecting some of the horrors he and his family faced as they made their way from Iran to Turkish refugee camps to Canada.

Abbasi, a downtown resident and former Bay Street finance professional, decided to pen his book following the death of his father in February, 2013.

“It was the only way I was finally able to actually cope with my father’s passing,” Abbasi said. “I ended up leaving my job on Bay Street, first to take care of the things related to his passing and then after a while, going to Europe for a month.”

During that time, Abbasi admits he was in a terrible mindset, relying on heavy drinking and even drug use to drown the feelings he had over his father’s death.

“I made my way back to Toronto and still wasn’t focused on my work or the company I had started (events company the Omega Group,)” he said. “The only thing that helped me was writing. That became cathartic for me.”

Abbasi’s mindset came partly out of guilt over his father’s death. The Abbasis had fled Iran in 1987 after his father, journalist Ali Abbasi, spent a year being tortured in Evin Prison for his political views and activism.

They landed in a refugee camp in Turkey, where Massoud was subjected to sexual abuse by some people in the camp.

While there, Ali, a journalist, made waves by shedding light on the injustices taking place in Iran.

Following more than a year spent in a refugee camp, the Abbasis made their way to Canada.

Here, the family faced hardships of a different sort. Ali had been left partially blind and deaf due to the treatment he endured in prison and was unable to find work. Worse, he began lashing out at his loved ones.

“My dad, because of his experiences, became so bitter and angry, he became a violent man,” the author said.

Massoud added that his father became abusive toward the rest of the family and finally decided he had to intervene.

“As the first boy in my family who was able to stand up to him, I finally realized what I had to do and I legally separated my parents,” Massoud said. “For the next nine years, I became my father’s legal guardian and I saw him become lonely, destitute and depressed. He went through a period where he smoked and drank a lot and when he passed, I felt incredibly guilty.”

Despite the violence he perpetrated on his family later in life, Ali’s activism and journalistic skills helped save the lives of countless people when he uncovered a plot that saw Iranian refugees living in Turkey returned to Iran, where they were tortured and often executed.

“There’s a picture of him at the United Nations with a razor blade, threatening to kill himself if something wasn’t done,” Massoud said.

While Seeker of Horizons is a fictional tale, it finds its basis in fact. Massoud noted he was wary of including certain details – including sexual abuse – in the book at first.

“It’s a little worrisome for me to come out and say all this stuff, but I also wanted to share details,” he said. “Success for this book, to me, would be having people come up to me and say ‘I was also abused as a kid’ or ‘I was also sexually abused.’ I’m hoping that by sharing my story, it will draw out other people’s stories.”

Seeker of Horizons offers Massoud’s own experiences told through the prism of young protagonist Moshe, who learns shocking secrets about his own family’s past as he travels in search of love.

The book will be released at a special launch party at House of Moments Art Gallery and Lounge at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 9 and will be available in digital and paperback versions, with a hardcover release slated for June.